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Comment by seanmcdirmid | Hacker News Reader

China has mobile ordering to the next level. Every McDonald’s has a set of two sided lockers, you just scan your order QR code and the locker your order is in opens…no human contact what so ever.

In the USA, McDonald’s app is pretty bad compared to Starbucks at least. Nowhere near where it is in China (well, if you do the wechat plugin). I find it isn’t worth the trouble and will just use the kiosk for the rare times I still go there.

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What was weird was when the restaurant was closed and looked deserted but you could still order online and hope the locker with your order lit up with your food (it did).

I found it disconcerting that I couldn’t tell who was making my food, it felt dehumanizing and weirdly off putting

Like using a vending machine? Having worked at McDonald’s for 4 years before I started my long tech career, why do you think you’d known anyways after the food goes from grill to front counter via a bin? Double that via drive thru, there is always a division of labor anyways…it’s fast food after all.

Having had unhoused neighbors steal my order at Starbucks, I find the system they use in China reassuring.

This was a thing in the US back in the 20s (and a bit before): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Every McDonald’s has a set of two sided lockers, you just scan your order QR code and the locker your order is in opens…no human contact what so ever.

Little Caesar's had this in the States at least as far back as 2016, when I first ran across it.

I wonder if you still order a pizza from the Hut by texting a pizza emoji?

I’ve never seen un in the USA and it is pretty ubiquitous in China. Anyways, it would be cool if American companies would adopt them but it is probably horribly expensive to source them here vs in China.

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